Talking Points #2 on Rodriguez

Richard Rodriguez- Aria


Context/Premise: This article is about public language, private language, classroom language, language of home, language barriers, silence caused by language barriers, teachers, students, education, pronounciations, advantage of English language, the privilege of Americaness, bilingual individuals, and ignorance by English speaking teachers and children.


Argument:Rodriguez argues that children should be taught a second language early in their life because it would be considered a public language rather than a private one, and because it is essential for children to know English as a first language, bilingual children loose part of their identity when they silence the use of their native language.

Evidence: "Had they been taught a second language like Spanish or French, they could have regarded it simply as that: another public language." (34)
Here Rodriguez is explaining that if children learned a language in addition to English, they would be able to converse with other bilingual students.

"Because I wrongly imagined that English was intrinsically a public language and Spanish was an intrinsically private one, I easily noted the difference between classroom language and the language of home." (34)
Rodriguez is remembering his school experience where he realized English was the public language and Spanish was the private language of his home.

"Unsmiling, ever watchful, my teachers noted my silence." (35)
The silence was caused by Rodriguez not speaking English at home, and therefore, he struggled with it at school and decided to hide behind the silence.

"Only when I was with them in public would I grow alert to their accents." (38)
Rodriguez would notice his family's thick Spanish accent only when they were in public, surrounded by fluent English speaking people. In the privacy of his home, he does not notice it.


Questions/Comments/Points to Share: This story was straightforward and clear, making my reading it enjoyable and insightful because it made me take for granted the English language. I was taught the English language in the privacy of my home so I could apply it to the public when I was old enough to go to school. But many children speak Spanish primarily at home, so how does that prepare them for school? It makes it difficult to say the least. I think teachers need to be aware of each student's culture and be very careful not to silence them because of a language barrier. However, all children living in America need to learn English because that is the main language of the public, and it will help them get ahead rather than be silenced.